


A steady hand to hold

by Intergalactic_Asher



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Season: Spring in Hieron, Sih 38 spoilers, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, let me know the next time you need a reminder, sih finale spoilers kind of??, they just love each other a lot okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-06 09:42:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20289388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Intergalactic_Asher/pseuds/Intergalactic_Asher
Summary: I can't promise you fair sky aboveI can't promise you kind road belowBut I'll walk beside you, loveAny way the wind blowsEphrim thinks about the future.





	A steady hand to hold

The world doesn’t explode quickly. Ephrim watches for days as the Second Spring bursts into life all around the University, the blank white of the Starstuff turning vibrant green , the sky going hazy, then dark, then bright as the suns settle into place across the new rhizome. Ephrim watches, and he cleans the rubble that scatters the University grounds, and he takes breaks far more frequently than he would prefer, at Highwater’s insistence.

Thankfully, the party that went to Malle’s Fist gets back before the road becomes too complicated. Ephrim has no idea where Malle’s Fist is anymore - he doesn’t care, he’s just glad his friends are back. He waits in the central tower with Lem and Fero on the day they’re supposed to arrive. Lem stands in the middle, one hand on Fero’s head, the other on Ephrim’s back. Fero hasn’t found the will to protest Lem’s care since that day. Ephrim worries about it more than he wants to and less than he should.

The sound of footsteps and voices has all three of them standing at attention. Fero stretches up on his toes, as if that will bring them here faster. The seconds drip by like a water-clock filled with sludge before finally, _ finally _ the doors open, and there they are: Hella, Adaire, Hadrian, Throndir.

A wave of relief washes through the room, and even Fero, who's still pretending to be angry with half of them, can't keep the smile off his face as it becomes real: they did it, they really did it, they found a way through the end of the world and maybe, possibly, there's the slimmest chance that whatever is coming into being on the other side can really be their home.

Ephrim's knees go weak, and for a second he thinks he'll fall over. But that's the moment when the other half of the group reaches them, and Throndir is holding him up. Ephrim grasps the fur on his vest - the big dork insists on wearing it even in this heat - and for a while his whole world shrinks down to this room, smiles and hugs and the nearly hysterical relief that all of them made it through this. Red Jack is there for a while with Blue J and Benjamin, and Corsica comes in to congratulate the away party. Fero livens up to ask Hella about the sword in the volcano ("Seriously, how many weird swords can those guys _ make _?") and does his best to look cool talking about what he did to Samot. Rosanna, who met the away party at the gates, stays close to Hadrian’s side. They spill out into the courtyard, where Rix is loudly directing the final preparations for the welcome back party. Ephrim lets himself get swept up in the music and the food and the paper lanterns that Roe produces when the suns set behind the branches where the university has come to rest. No plotting or problem solving tonight. Just this, just the simple joy of being together.

He's sitting just beyond the lanterns' light when Throndir finds him again. Ephrim has his eyes closed, his head bent forward to breathe deeply. Samot's reconfiguration took a nasty toll on him, as if it had drained his very life force away. Which, given that it was Samot, is probably exactly what happened. Ephrim recognizes Throndir's step, smiles to himself as the elf sits down beside him.

"Hey."

"Hey." Throndir is silent for a moment. "I brought you some juice."

Ephrim sits up slowly, trying not to get dizzy. "Thanks," he says, taking the cup Throndir offers him. He leans against Throndir's shoulder, careful to angle himself so none of the lingering Heat and Dark in his arm touches him. He takes a drink. "This is good."

They sit in companionable silence for a few minutes. The courtyard has turned into a dance floor, different musicians and bands taking turns with the music. A scuffle breaks out over who will play the next song. Rix and Hella work in tandem to break it up.

"It was weird, going so far away," Throndir says.

Ephrim turns his head to look up at Throndir. He has to crane his neck from this position. "It's no further than Alcyon," he says. Throndir shrugs.

"Alcyon was weird too. Different, but still weird."

"How was it different?"

Throndir doesn't answer. "I spent so long just wandering around," he says instead. "Now I feel weird if I go too far past the University walls." He shakes his head.

Ephrim bites his lip. "I know how you feel," he says. "I never thought I'd stay in the same place this long. When I was a little kid, I didn't know a place could stick around this long."

“I’m surprised this place has managed it.” Throndir watches the tower, his brow creased.

Ephrim sets down his cup, almost reaches up to wipe the lines away. Stops himself. “You think I’m that bad a Lord?” he asks, covering up the motion by smoothing down his collar.

Throndir laughs, and Ephrim’s heart beats entirely too fast. “No,” he says. “Just, you know. With the Spring and all, I didn’t know if…” He doesn’t finish the sentence, but Ephrim knows what he means.

“Hey,” he says, sitting up, and now he does touch Throndir’s face, pulls it around to look at him. “We didn’t spend ten years building this place just to lose it. Okay? We’re not- I wouldn’t let that happen.”

“Yeah. Okay.” Vampires can’t blush, but the sheepish look on Throndir’s face is familiar to Ephrim. The way he angles his eyes down and to the side, the little smile and the way he bites his lip.

Ephrim loses track of how long he stares at Throndir, but when he looks up, he sees Throndir is watching him as well. “I should’ve known better than to doubt you,” Throndir says when their eyes meet. “After- after all your hard work.”

“And Corsica’s,” Ephrim reminds him. “And Red Jack’s, and Rosanna’s. And yours.”

“I’m not-"

“Throndir, if you finish that sentence, I’m gonna feed you to the giant spiders.” Ephrim hefts himself off Throndir’s shoulder to glare reproachfully at him. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten our deal.” 

Throndir looks puzzled, then laughs. “Sorry,” he says. Then, “Wait, what giant spiders?”

“It’s… Y’know what, let’s worry about that tomorrow. Do you want to dance?”

Dancing for them consists mostly of swaying in one spot, Throndir’s hands on Ephrim’s waist and Ephrim holding onto Throndir’s shoulder. It’s nice to have Throndir there, to rest some of Ephrim’s weight on him. Ephrim inches closer, their chests a hair’s breadth apart.

He can’t remember when it started, this thing between the two of them. They’ve been moving closer and closer for nearly a decade, never talking openly about it, never quite touching. Ephrim has thought countless times about how it might go - in another world, if they had the time. Ephrim would court Throndir, like a gentleman. Or he’d skip the formality, fall hard and fast into Throndir’s arms and stay there for all their long lives. Or he’d make Throndir chase him. They’d spend a year together, or two, or another decade, and then they’d get married in the dry season, or whatever season there was then. Or maybe they would just stay together and wouldn’t need the big ceremony. Ephrim has considered all the angles. But it was never real - it couldn’t be, with the Heat and the Dark approaching. Ephrim was never brave enough to close the gap with that in between them, and Throndir seemed content to follow his lead.

_ But now… _

The sky above the University is never fully black anymore. Even when all three of the closest suns have disappeared behind the various branches it remains a dusky purple, broken up by hazy clouds of pollen. The ache in Ephrim’s arm will never let him forget what they lost, how close they came to oblivion. But right now, looking up at Throndir’s face and the violet night beyond him, Ephrim can see a future he didn’t think would ever be more than a daydream.

“I missed you,” he says. It’s quiet enough that most people wouldn’t hear, but Ephrim knows Throndir’s ears are keen enough to pick up his voice.

Throndir must have been lost in his own thoughts, because he startles when Ephrim speaks up. “Oh,” he says. Looks down and meets Ephrim’s eyes. “I missed you too. Like, a lot.”

“You made it back.”

“To you? Always.”

Throndir’s boldness catches Ephrim off guard, and he falls more than he propels himself into their first kiss. Throndir is waiting for him, his hands steady and his body firm and solid where Ephrim crashes against him. It’s a messy kiss, and Ephrim thinks he can hear Roe shriek in disgust, and oh _ fuck _ they’re doing this in front of everybody, aren’t they? Ephrim pulls away, his face burning. Throndir looks disappointed, but Ephrim cups his cheek before he can apologize. “D’you want to go somewhere private?” he asks.

Throndir breaks into a relieved smile, and then something warmer. “Lead the way,” he says.

They keep their hands clasped tight as Ephrim pulls Throndir away from the party, away from the University which will be fine without them for a little while. When they settle down, deep in the crook of the world-branches that shelter the University, Ephrim pulls Throndir close to him and whispers promises he didn’t think he could ever make. He loses himself in the closeness, the warmth and the feeling of safety that Throndir always brings, and when he opens his eyes he sees the sky, shot pink with the light of a distant sun, and he knows that he’s home.

**Author's Note:**

> I just think a lot about the fact that Malle's Fist was the first time in a decade that they were apart... they r soft and love each other
> 
> Title & summary come from Promises from Hadestown


End file.
